The President Is Shot!: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Gr. 5-8. A page-turner of a text, a fascinating array of photos and archival illustrations, and an event that changed the course of history: all these elements combine in this strong, highly readable book. Holzer, the author of Abraham Lincoln: The Writer (2000) as well as numerous books about the Civil War for adults, does a fine job of condensing and shaping information about the assassination for young readers, beginning rather breathlessly on the day Lincoln died in an unassuming boarding house across from Ford's Theater. From there, he moves back in time, introducing Lincoln as a determined if weary leader, who gained the North's respect. But Holzer also explains why Lincoln was despised, filling in details of the South's destruction and demoralization. Taking advantage of the volatile mix was actor John Wilkes Booth, a lover of the South and a supporter of slavery, who, not content with stage fame, craved historical recognition. Holzer's sharp, clear writing turns history into...